Recently, a recording medium (digital recording medium) such as CD (Compact Disc) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) in which data can be recorded and reproduced with digital signals becomes widespread, and an information reproducing apparatus having various reproducing functions in which an advantage of the recording with digital signals is positively utilized is brought into practical use.
Particularly, when compared with a recording medium (analog recording medium) typified by cassette tape and video tape in which the data is recorded and reproduced with analog signals, the digital recording has advantages in responsibility of reading the recorded content data and user-friendliness in searching an arbitrary reproduction position. Examples of the advantage includes “reproduction heading” in which the reproduction is performed by searching a leading end address from plural groups of pieces of data such as each song and a set of series of video scenes (hereinafter referred to as “scene”), i.e., a set of plural pieces of data in providing the data as contents to a user (hereinafter the set is referred to as content data) and “random reproduction” in which reproduction procedures of the pieces of content data are exchanged to reproduce the content data. The information reproducing apparatus having various reproducing functions becomes commercially practical.
Conventionally, in order to facilitate specification of a reproduction position in the content data such as the songs and video scenes recorded in the digital recording medium, there is known an information reproducing apparatus in which a change in amount of temporal information on the content data is analyzed to notify the user of the analysis result during the reproduction of the content data.
For example, in the information reproducing apparatus, the change in amount of temporal information on each content data is previously analyzed, and a difference between the previously-analyzed result and the change in amount of temporal information on the content data is displayed in the form of a level difference on the display means. According to the above configuration, the user can operate an operating unit based on the analysis result, so that the user can properly and easily specify the desired reproduction point (for example, see Patent Document 1).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-341888